ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Facing a must-win situation against a pitcher that has muzzled the Rangers in previous outings, Yu Darvish was at his most wild ever on Thursday.

He gave back an early lead, walked or hit a total of seven batters, piled up pitches by the bundle and made an early exit.

And when it was done and the Rangers had escaped Tampa Bay with an 8-2 win, a split of the four-game series and control of the wild-card race, manager Ron Washington couldn’t heap enough praise on Darvish.

“If he didn’t know what it means to grind, he knows it now,” Washington said. “He was effectively wild all night, and he got into some trouble, but when he had to make a pitch, he made one. He could not find a rhythm or an arm slot all game, but he kept battling.

“Sometimes you have to find a way to do things even when you are not at your best,” Washington added. “He did that tonight.”

Darvish could only get through five innings in 109 pitches, but by that time, he had something he hasn’t had in what seemed like forever: A lead. Displaying a combination of power at the plate and aggressiveness on the bases that has been lacking lately only kept adding to the lead.

The win clinched the best-of-7 season series with Tampa Bay, 4-3. So, if the two teams end up tied for the two wild-card spots, the Rangers would host the game. If the teams wind up tied for the second wild-card spot, the Rangers would host the play-in game to get to the wild-card game. Cleveland remains in hot pursuit of both teams, one-half game back.

And now the Rangers are going to Kansas City for the final road series of the year. The Royals trail the wild-card leaders by three games with 10 to play. Winning the series in Kauffman Stadium — no easy task — would tighten the Rangers’ hold on a playoff berth.

“This was a big win,” said shortstop Elvis Andrus. “We’re playing better baseball, and you can feel people relaxing again.”

Andrus and leadoff man Ian Kinsler were at the center of the offense’s charge. They combined to reach base seven times. Andrus drive in three runs with a two-out, two-run infield single and a homer. Kinsler scored the second run on Andrus’ infield single. When both of them score in the same game, the Rangers are 28-4 this season.

Kinsler raced home from second after taking a two-out walk and then combining with Craig Gentry on a double steal. When third base coach Gary Pettis read that first baseman James Loney would be stretching for the ball on Andrus’ single, he gambled that it would take him to long to get back in position and make a strong throw home. It worked perfectly, just as it did when Andrus raced home from second on an infield single in Game 5 of the AL Division Series at Tropicana Field in 2010.

“It was a great play,” Andrus said. “Those kinds of plays mean a lot. When we can put pressure on the pitcher, they can lose focus and maybe make a bad pitch to the hitter and we can take advantage of it.”

Andrus and Kinsler were also in the middle of the pitching situation. In the third inning, after Darvish issued his fifth walk of the game, the duo came to the mound to offer a little encouragement.

“We just talked about looking for contact,” Andrus said. “We know the way he pitches that if he throws a fastball low in the zone, he will get a ground ball and we can get a double play.”

That’s exactly what they got. They got another in the fourth to bail them out of another jam.

Darvish was in jams all night, but he found a way through them. That was what the Rangers most needed.

Catch Evan Grant’s Ranger Reports all season on The Ticket (KTCK-1310 AM) on Tuesdays at 9:35 a.m. with The Musers, Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. with The Hardline and Thursdays at 2:15 p.m. with BaD Radio.

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